Carpe Diem
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Lying on his deathbed with the flow of time having caught up with him, Babi writes his final words. And message...


Carpe Diem

_I decided awhile ago that I would limit the amount of oneshots that I did, so as to not hinder my main fics, 'Broken Seal' among them. However, with the chances of an update in the near future looking increasingly unlikely, I've had to resort to writing oneshots to fill the gap._

_Anyway, some of you will probably be able to tell that this is a 'hybrid' oneshot, with themes and quotes taken from a variety of sources. So um… I don't claim intellectual property over them anymore than I do of the Golden Sun. Also, you should note that the 'Age System' is exclusive to 'Broken Seal'. However, this is the only reference so don't expect another 'Golden Dreams' fic._

_Word._

**XXXX**

People often realise at some point in their often short lives that time is the greatest foe for civilisation. Time has infinity to work with; all the time in the world to bring down whatever structures humanity erects, to allow passage of the elements into even the grandest tombs. Any civilisation that becomes too great will eventually find that its rulers have become slaves to the process of infinitude.

However, what is not as often acknowledged is that, to further increase its cruelty, the flow of time differentiates for each person. What may seem like an eternity for one person may be on the opposite end of the spectrum of time for another. Still, there tends to be a constant that time slows down as one becomes older. Such a feature was truly the case for me, the 150 plus years of my life having come to an almost complete standstill.

Lying on my death bed though, out of Lemurian draught, barely able to write… the flow has finally breached the dam of denial, my little barrier against fate. Time has caught up with me and it's only now that I realise that it was inevitable-no aspect of the human psyche can act as a bull work forever-we're far too complex for that.

So in my little ride down the river of time, exactly what did I accomplish? Rising to lordship over Tolbi was an accomplishment I suppose, but power is not nearly as important as what you choose to do with it. And what was my choice, namely a vain and foolish one? Spend a ludicrous amount of time and effort trying to find a way back to Lemuria. Such determination was down to vanity really-departing the world as an intron in history had become unthinkable to me, possessing such prestige, or at least that's what I perceived it as. I would have settled for nothing less than being an exon, but I knew deep down that even that would have faded away into the river of time.

So I chose to become an 'eternal exon', seeking to defy the laws of nature and time. My power and knowledge, namely my position as mayor of Tolbi and my knowledge of Lemuria's secrets, gave me the means to accomplish this. However, such power and wisdom resulted in the degradation of whatever courage I'd possessed and even the wisdom was singular, resulting from a narrow mind. It is indeed a sad truth that those who do not understand power will soon be ruled by it.

I guess what I was doing, forcing the citizens of Lalivero into servitude and all, was really just another expression of fear and instinct, how every living thing in the world seeks to pass on the torch of its seed, due to the atavistic impulse of reproduction. However, I chose to defy this cycle, keeping the torch in my own hand, keeping it alight and never passing it on. However, I failed to realise that while you can keep adding oil and thatch to a flame, the oxygen in the air around it will eventually be depleted.

I know that my time has come and that my flame will go out soon. Even if I had continual supply to the oil that is Lemurian draught, my air supply, the true spiritual essence of one's existence, expired long ago. A large amount of my life has been empty and it is only now that I realise it. The flow of time is indeed cruel, but insightful.

So therefore, I'll try to pass down some insight of my own, to make up for the blindness of my rule. Such a message is often an act of hedonism, but is in fact the way of the world;

Carpe Diem.

**XXXX**

_These were the last words ever written by Lord Babi, who died in the year 3002 of the Fourth Age. Mantleship was taken over by Iodem, who immediately ordered construction of a monument in his honour to signal the start of a new rule, one that would have concerns for the present. After all, Babi had lasted for an eternity._

_He wanted to last for an eternity more…_


End file.
